Month: October 2011

The following is from a sermon by Martin Luther King that was delivered at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., on 31 March 1968. It is even more relevant today…

There can be no gainsaying of the fact that a great revolution is taking place in the world today. In a sense it is a triple revolution: that is, a technological revolution, with the impact of automation and cybernation; then there is a revolution in weaponry, with the emergence of atomic and nuclear weapons of warfare; then there is a human rights revolution, with the freedom explosion that is taking place all over the world. Yes, we do live in a period where changes are taking place. And there is still the voice crying through the vista of time saying, “Behold, I make all things new; former things are passed away.”…

The World Peace Through Technology Organization knows that quotes can be very useful. They can inspire and motivate, offer insight and persective, and they fit nicely on a poster. They are memes that can be spread easily, each containing a packet of wisdom and understanding. They are like little mind-bombs being launched from all directions, in a battle against apathy and misunderstanding. They can be extremely powerful, especially when put to music.

Through an inspiring experiment in direct democracy and consensus building, this statement was released after a unanimous vote of Occupy Wall Street’s general assembly:

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.

We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right…

Their actions are all a practice in well-understood nonviolence, and their goals are all related to peace and social justice. They go on to list the problems that we, as a society, are facing….

A great animation explaining the cost of war. At least 53% of our tax dollars now goes towards war, an ammount greater than any other country. We’re still paying off the debt from all of our previous wars, debt which is going to the banks who loaned the money to pay for the wars. And it doesn’t look like the government will stop any time soon.

“Tax Dollars At War” is a brilliant visualization of a radio interview about U.S. military spending as a proportion of our national budget. The dialogue comes from a Flashpoints interview with Dennis Bernstein and Dave Lindorff. It is produced by Softbox, animated and directed by Chris Fontaine.